


Defiance

by Gentrix



Series: Chosen Peace [5]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Modern Character in Thedas, Modern Girl in Thedas, Orlais (Dragon Age), Orlesian (Dragon Age) Language, Orlesian Chevaliers, Templars (Dragon Age), Val Royeaux (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:07:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25591045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gentrix/pseuds/Gentrix
Summary: "Good people of Val Royeaux, hear me! Together, we mourn our Divine. Her naive and beautiful heart silenced by treachery! You wonder what will become of her murderer. Well, wonder no more! Behold, the so-called Herald of Andraste!" the Revered Mother points at her as the crowd parts like the Red Sea. "Claiming to rise where our beloved fell. We say this is a false prophet! No servant of anything beyond their selfish greed!"Aerin stares at the deranged woman. In the stories, she always chose the diplomatic route but really? "I never claimed to be anything! I only want to close the Breach before it swallows the whole world!"
Relationships: Inquisitor & Cassandra Pentaghast, Inquisitor & Solas (Dragon Age), Inquisitor & Varric Tethras
Series: Chosen Peace [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1841563
Comments: 1
Kudos: 48





	1. Temper

Val Royeaux. The Chantry's seat of power. The capital city of Orlais. A figment of France lives on in Orlais, from its language to some of its cuisine. The pang of sorrow hits Aerin as she passed some of the civilians in the square, muttering insults under their breath as she passed by with her companions. She gave the rude people a blank stare. She was itching in spooking them into shock if she starts speaking Orlesian - French! - to them. She gave a silent thanks to her school for forcing her to learn French as a third language, stating that she had an aptitude in languages and economics. The science was never her forte even if she produced good results, for the sake of her mother's sanity. 

" _Elle est plus petite que je ne le pensais_ ," says a nearby chevalier, nudging at his companion. " _Elle ferait mieux de sa montre en arrière._ _Les Templiers sont ici._ "

Her companions doesn't notice as she stops to look at the group of chevaliers, head tilting as the chevaliers stared at her uneasily. Her Mama had taught her manners and she may have forgotten about it but she still instils it in her new life.

She nods her head, thanking the group for the warning. " _Merci pour l'avertissement, monsieur._ "

" _Vous parlez Orlesian?_ " asked the chevalier who had warned her, even if it was unintentional. " _Je présente mes excuses, ma dame, si je vous avais insulté._ "

Aerin shakes her head. " _Je parle un peu. Ça va. Vous ne m'avez pas insulté._ "

"Lady Herald," Solas interjects, slightly surprising her. He was a sneaky elf. "The Revered Mother has started her speech. _Excusez-nous, monsieur._ "

The two of them bid the chevaliers farewell, their gaze blazing against her back, slightly causing her to shiver. "You speak Orlesian, _hahren_?"

He lets out a small chuckle. "I only know a few words during my travels in the Fade. Do _you_ speak Orlesian, _da'len_?"

"Some words," she shrugs. "Bann Trevelyan thought that I needed to learn if I was to be around his children."

"You lived a fascinating life, da'len. A Dalish clan accepted by a noble human family. A family that had given a half-elven a human education."

She cuts in. "It wasn't just me. Mahanon and Ellana was also included in his offer. The Keeper accepted since as potential Keepers, they needed many advantages as possible to keep the peace with the humans that hates us."

"A wise Keeper," he says sagely and the conversation ends as they walked towards the stage, Solas falling back in step with Varric as Cassandra walks besides her.

"Good people of Val Royeaux, hear me! Together, we mourn our Divine. Her naive and beautiful heart silenced by treachery! You wonder what will become of her murderer. Well, wonder no more! Behold, the so-called Herald of Andraste!" the Revered Mother points at her as the crowd parts like the Red Sea. "Claiming to rise where our beloved fell. We say this is a false prophet! No servant of anything beyond their selfish greed!"

Aerin stares at the deranged woman. In the stories, she always chose the diplomatic route but really? "I never claimed to _be_ anything! I only want to close the Breach before it swallows the whole world!"

"It's true!" implored Cassandra. "The Inquisition seeks only to end this madness before its too late!"

"It is already too late!" the Revered Mother points towards the approaching squad of Templars being led by Lord Seeker Lucius, a smirk on his face as they climbed up the stage. "The templars have returned to the Chantry! They will face this “Inquisition,” and the people will be safe once more!"

The Lord Seeker walks pass the mother, discretely nodding towards a Templar. She knew what was about to happen and she was already holding back her temper after the damn circus in Haven. Instantly, she jumps up the stage and pushes the Revered Mother, receiving the blow that was meant to be for the unsuspecting mother. She growls in pain, standing up as she cradles her cheek, bleeding from the blow, glaring at the surprised Templar as the Revered Mother was helped up by her chantry sisters.

"How dare you tried to strike an unarmed woman?" Aerin hissed, her temper snapping and she wasn't truly thinking straight, anger fueling her mind, rational thoughts gone. "An unarmed woman who believed you would have 'protected' her against what she believed would be a threat that was supposedly 'me'."

"You - " the guilty templar starts to say but she shushes him.

"Shut up! I wasn't done!" she growls, turning to face towards a bemused and angry Lord Seeker. "You are a Seeker of Truth, part of an organization that is supposed to root out corruption and protect the Chantry against external and internal threats! An organization that supposedly exists to also keep the Templars in check! But I see none of that in you! You do not deserve to be called Lord Seeker or even have a hand in leading the Templars! I only see a man who was willing to order a Templar to hit an unsuspecting, innocent chantry mother! _Va te faire foutre!_ "

Aerin stomps towards the man, jabbing a finger against his armored chest. That seemed to be the last straw as he suddenly grabs her arm and slams her violently against the wooden stage. Before she could let out a cry, she felt his hands on her neck, choking her. She struggles against the large man, trying to find purchase with her own arms, desperately trying to find a pressure point but the man was fully armored.

"Fuck, let me go, asshole!" she gurgled out, hands struggling to pull the Seeker's off her neck. She distantly hears Cassandra shouting at the Seeker but she could only stare into the man's cold eyes, a sneer plastered across his face. Suddenly, her memories reminded her of who the Lord Seeker truly was, the realization finally hits her as her rage cools off in the new face of danger.

"At _last_!" Envy hisses in glee. Her vision darkens and she hears Envy's words before she embraces the darkness. "I am Envy and I will have you, Herald!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> French Translations (It's from Google Translate! So, it may be butchered French):
> 
> 1) elle est plus petite que je ne la pensais - she is smaller than I thought
> 
> 2) elle ferait mieux de sa montre en arrière - she better watch her back
> 
> 3) les Templiers sont ici - The Templars are here
> 
> 4) merci pour l'avertissement, monsieur. - Thank you for the warning, sir.
> 
> 5) vous parlez Orlesian? - you speak Orlesian?
> 
> 6) je présente mes excuses, ma dame, si je vous avais insulté. - I apologize, my lady, if I had insulted you.
> 
> 7) je parle un peu. Ça va. Vous ne m'avez pas insulté. - I speak a little. It's okay. You didn't insult me.
> 
> 8) excusez-nous, monsieur. - Excuse us, sir.
> 
> 9) va te faire foutre! - go fuck yourself!


	2. Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her temper can get her killed. Should've listened to the Dread Wolf after that fight in Haven.

"Fuck my damn temper!" Aerin curses underneath her breath as she fought against the horde of demons within her mind, trying to escape the forest. "Mama told me about my temper. Keeper Deshanna told me about my temper. Bann Trevelyan told me about my temper. Heck, even the damn Dread Wolf told me about my temper. What did they all say? Rein it the fuck in!"

The demon had taken advantage of being in her mind, conjuring up images of her friends, making it seem like she had a hand in killing them and had conquered the entire of Thedas with the Inquisition supporting her. He had also taken advantage of her memories of the incoming events and crooned how it would give the Elder One her memories as a boon, to ensure he would succeed in his attempt to become a god. She needed to get out of here and kill that demon before it tries to escape.

She reaches the imitation of the square in Val Royeaux and approaches the empty stage. Suddenly, she gets thrown against the stage, the demon taking her form growls at her, attempting to strangle her again.

"Unfair! Unfair! That thing kept you whole! Kept you from giving me your shape," it hisses angrily.

She spat at the demon. "You fucking think I'll let you take my shape?"

"You - You fu - " it stops and stares back at her again menacingly. "We'll start again. More pain this time. The Elder One still comes!"

"It's frightened of you," Cole's voice echoes.

"Get out of - " it starts to speak to Cole and she takes advantage of its distraction, punching the demon hard and it lets go of her, the chain between her and the demon breaks and she is free.

She opens her eyes, realizes that her airway is finally free and she takes in desperate gulps of fresh air as the demon falls off the stage, revealing its true form to the crowd in Val Royeaux.

" _Da'len!_ " Solas cries out as he forms a barrier around her. She remains on the ground, grabbing her neck and stares at the demon, hissing as it stood up to look at her and its surroundings. The form it had previously took was gone and his disguise has been blown.

It starts to run but she refuses to let the demon go, let the demon tell the Elder One of her memories. She stands up and races against the demon, pulling out her dagger and throws it, hitting it precisely at its leg, causing it to slow its escape but it still kept running. Suddenly, it hits a golden barrier and it shrieks in rage. All around the square, she sees a golden barrier shielding the entire area, ensuring that the demon would not escape. She wasn't about to ask any questions where the barrier had come from as she readies her blade, her companions with her side by side. From the corner of her eyes, she sees the templars and the chevaliers joined them, the Inquisition scouts farther away from the fight, in a desperate attempt of defending the innocent civilians stuck inside the barrier, a few chevaliers joining them.

"If I can't have your shape, Herald, I will have your corpse and feast on it!" the demon shrieks.

"Okay," Aerin says, standing there quoting one of the hilarious videos she had seen and had saved to her phone. "I ain't afraid to die, bitch, I've been waiting to die since I came out of the womb. I ain't afraid to die."

"Hummingbird, please," Varric pleads, Bianca directly aimed at the demon. "Focus."

"Then, I shall fulfill your wish to die, Herald," it cackles.

Solas sighs, barriers in place. " _Da'len_ , after this, we shall talk about your suicidal tendencies that can get you killed!"

"We'll discuss about the Herald later," Cassandra cuts in as she raises her sword in the air and started rallying their allies, an ability that Aerin remembered was called Blessed Blades.

"For the Herald!" an Inquisition scout cried out as a battle cry and it resonated throughout the square as almost everyone echoed the battle cry with fervor. 

"For the Herald!"


	3. News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They didn't know who landed the killing blow. But hey, at least it's dead!

They didn't know who landed the killing blow. An arrow, courtesy of Varric, was heavily embedded in the demon's head, the tip protruding out of the other side. Cassandra's sword sunk deep into the demon's torso while Solas had sent a boulder towards the demon, likely pushing the demon towards Cassandra's sword. Aerin, on the other hand, was lucky enough to be in close quarters with the demon and managed to drive her daggers into the demon's neck before it collapsed on the ground, dead.

"That was an overkill," she hummed, pulling out her daggers from the corpse and removed the other dagger that she had thrown from the demon's leg, wiping the blood off with her clothing. "But, satisfying, after the damn nightmare I had."

"Never thought we'd have a fight in Val Royeaux," Varric says, looking around at the carnage of the battlefield. Broken stalls, blood decorating the floor and walls of the buildings and panicking civilians as more chevaliers ran into the square, assisted by the other Inquisition scouts to ensure the peace.

The injured templars and chevaliers were currently being treated by Solas, ignoring some of the sneers by some of the uninjured chevaliers, seemingly forgotten that he was a powerful mage, given the fact he had casted barriers for everyone and still had enough mana to use offensive spells against Envy. Aerin turns to look at the rooftops and hides a smirk as she sees mop of blonde hair vanishing away, bow in hand. Red Jenny.

"What did the demon want?" Cassandra asks, crossing her arms as she stands in a rigid manner.

"He wanted to assume my form and obtain control of the Inquisition," Aerin answers but she refused to elaborate in such an open area. "We can talk later, Cassandra."

The Seeker understood her hidden warning. "Of course, Herald."

"My lady," greeted an Inquisition scout, giving her a salute. "Knight-Templar Barris wishes to speak to you on behalf of his brethren."

Solas joins them, the injured being handed to the arriving healers to be tended to. "Well, _da'len_ , let's find out what the templar wants."

"Unless, he wants to check if the Herald is possessed," mutters Varric underneath his breath, simultaneously causing Cassandra and Solas to glare at him. "Which she is not and the Seeker can vouch for that!"

"Mind your words, dwarf," the Seeker growls as they approached the templars.

"Lady Herald, I am Ser Delrin Barris of the Templar Order," he salutes to Aerin. "Or what's left of the Order."

"What do you mean 'what's left'?" Aerin asked, narrowing her eyes at that statement.

"We received no correspondence from our other brethren all around Thedas. Any correspondence was met with silence or returned. When we asked the Lord Seeker, he only told us that it was his orders to ensure no correspondence be received from other strongholds across Thedas but some of us were suspicious. We sent a few scouts discretely and discovered our dying brethren and empty fortresses," he shakes his head, pulling out a couple of letters from his person and gives it to her. "The scouts managed to smuggle some of them out but they reported that they had been chased by figures encased in red crystals that sung a distorted song similar to lyrium's."

'Well... shit."

"This is bad news," she could only say as she skimmed through the letters. "Red lyrium growing from bodies?"

He gravely nods. "Any dead bodies the scouts had uncovered in the fortresses were covered in red crystals that we had assumed was red lyrium. But they couldn't stay there any longer in fear of the distorted call."

She sighs and stares at the remaining group of templar, ignoring the presence of the man who had attempted to punch the Revered Mother. "So, there will be no aid available from the templars in closing the Breach if the order is corrupted with red lyrium."

"Unfortunately, yes, my lady," Barris agrees. "Any surviving templars has vanished."

"What about those in Therinfal Redoubt?" Cassandra asks.

"I cannot say, Lady Seeker, for the Lord Seeker had barred us from entering certain areas in the stronghold. We assumed it was to keep the recruits from taking the new supply of red lyrium, supplies the Lord Seeker had mysteriously obtained from an anonymous source, with the Commanders keeping guard. But, with the discovery of the Lord Seeker being Envy, I suspect Therinfal Redoubt may be corrupted as well."

"There may still be time to save the remaining Templars," Aerin spoke up. "Bring the remaining templars to Haven. Your numbers may be small but we'd be willing to welcome you to Haven for sanctuary."

Ser Barris stares at her in surprise. "I - We shall accept that, my lady."

"There will be mages in the Inquisition and they are under my protection, so, help me god, if any of you start harassing the mages or even start another fight in Haven, I will yeet all of you to the frozen lake and break the damn ice and let all of you, both mages and templars, make nice in a cold lake. Understood?" Aerin puts her foot down, staring at the group of adult templars in the eyes, silently pissed at her height as she had to crane her neck to look at the towering Delrin Barris.

"Y-Yeet?" a templar echoed the word, confused.

"Yeet," Aerin nods sagely.

"What in the name of holy Andraste is yeet?"

"You can understand what it means. I don't think the Herald needs to explain." Barris points out.

Aerin sees a figure in the distance and tiredly groans, causing everyone to look at what she was staring at, before pulling out a tired smile. The templars looked on in surprise as the female elf approached the mismatched group of templars and heretics from the Inquisition.

"Perhaps the mages can offer their help in closing the Breach, Lady Herald."

"Grand Enchanter Fiona," she greets the elf. "How nice of you to join the party, even if you were fashionably late."

"I am Orlesian, Lady Herald. All of you were simply early."

"God, I forgot about that titbit. Orlesians will always be Orlesians."


End file.
